In the
early part of the 20th century,
the prevailing theory was that children had a predetermined Intelligence
Quotient (IQ) that would become evident as they matured. Then,
everything
changed. The Perry Preschool project launched with a goal of closing the
achievement gap by introducing the closest thing to an education
equalizer –
prekindergarten.  And it worked!

A similar adjustment in our thinking about motor development
skills is now dawning. A recent study
reported in Bloomberg Business Weekly highlights a lack of motor
development in
at-risk preschoolers. It found that more than three fourths of 400 plus
sampled
disadvantaged preschool children were delayed in their motor
development. The
findings contradict the common maturationist belief that physical
development
happens naturally in children. From the study:

Goodway and colleagues tested 469 preschoolers enrolled in
urban,
state-funded programs for disadvantaged youth and found that 86 percent
of the
children were developmentally delayed in terms of basic motor skills.
Girls and
boys had similar scores on motor skills, but girls did much worse in
object
control activities, such as using a ball or a bat.

The
emergence of physical health as a field of interest is based largely on
the
growing inactivity of all children. In the past, when kids played
outside, in
backyards, the streets and on school playgrounds, it was "normal" for them to
develop physically along a similar trajectory. But as children have
become more
and more enticed by digital mediums of engagement, many are no longer
developing
in accordance to these "normal" pathways. Now, obesity is as common
an epidemic in our country as malnourishment is in the poorest countries
of the
world. And our children have so many sedentary
ways to entertain themselves that they are falling behind
in
their motor development skills.

According
to the American Obesity
Association,
the national rate for obesity in young children is at 15 percent.
Findings show
that approximately one third of kids are now categorized as overweight.
The
causes of this issue are complex, varying from an
overabundance of foods
containing high-fructose corn syrup to video games and television
replacing
outdoor playtime. One study found that
a child's risk for obesity increased 6 percent for every hour spent
watching TV
and catapulted to 31 percent if there was a TV in the child's room.

I
don’t know about you, but the next time my son asks to watch television
my
answer will be, "No, but you can go outside."

 **
This piece is a follow up to our recent post
on childhood fading in the light of digital interactions.

Image from: http://www.healthjockey.com/images/child-tv-time.jpg